75 Unique Homemade and DIY Gift Ideas , Something for Everyone

• By Joan
• November 14, 2023
• 3 Comments

75 Unique Homemade and DIY Gift Ideas , Something for Everyone

 

Hi Everyone, welcome back.  Today I bring you a roundup of 75 homemade and DIY gift ideas.  This is actually the 5th time I’ve compiled such a list.  I think there is something for absolutely everyone on your gift shopping list.  Many of the items I bring you  use reclaimed wood or items you can find at a thrift store.  You know I’m all about using less and recycling  more whenever possible.

If, by some crazy chance, you get to the end of the list and nothing has struck your fancy, click on any of the past roundups and you’ll be immediately taken away to another fantastic list of 75 homemade and DIY gift ideas.

Since it’s been 2 years since I have compiled a gift list I’ve included  about 15 of my own projects,  even though, in my humble opinion, I would give away any of my projects as gifts…which my family will attest to.

So, take your time, enjoy, and if you see something that inspires you, make sure you Pin or save it.  You’ll never remember where you originally saw it.  Or that could just be me.  😆 

Photo Gifts

House of Handmade brings you this cute little frame with a clip for easy picture exchange as your child grows or artwork changes.

 

Frame Makeover for baby.  Paint over an existing frame to personalize this gift for baby.

This idea might be a little late for this year, but start collecting recipes and photos of the family cooking and assemble all in  a beautifully bound keepsake book.  This photo is from Shutterfly but there are a lot of websites that offer this service.

This block photo display has got to be the cutest and most interactive way to display photos I’ve ever seen.  Click on the link for the video version. This still picture doesn’t do it justice.

For the Bird Lover

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 These Simple DIY Birdhouses were created for a wall of birdhouses at my son’s house but any little birdy would love to call this place home.

Also for bird lovers, American Lifestyle created a nice gift basket which includes bird seed, suet cakes, a bird identifying book and bird feeder.

And the Pet Lover

Mama teaches shows how to make easy peanut butter dog treats with only 3 ingredients.

 

Also for the puppy, an elevated dog bowl stand from a wine crate. Personalize for that added touch.

 

Not to leave the kitty out, these are carrot and catnip treats created by Tina at Epicuricloud.

Have a Drink

Marie at Interior Frugalista painted a thrift store box  and repurposed it as a tea storage box.

Staying on the tea bag theme, this wreath is created from clothespins, a pizza box and tea bags.  Originally created by With Our Powers Combined.

And for the coffee lover, combine their favorite coffee, cookies and syrups in a beautiful gift basket.  I found this one at Hairs out of Place.  If you click on this link you’ll find 15 ideas for coffee gift baskets.

I don’t know the original poster of this gift basket but it would be great for a family member or coworker and easy to put together.   A bottle of wine for after work and a gift card to their favorite coffee house for before work paired with a couple of cute wine stoppers.

Christina, The DIY Mommy, shared a fantastic mulled wine gift basket.  She even shares how to dry out the citrus fruit.

This Moscow Mule gift box was posted by Frankie B Designs on Pinterest.  If you like this idea,  I would hit up the thrift stores first.  With the exception of the limes and liquor I have seen all of these items for sale at one time or another.

 

Candles and Candle Holders

Scrap Wood Candle Holder . Combine thrift store candle holders and scrap wood for super easy candle holders.

These tissue paper doodle candle holders are from Alixa Burke.  When I first saw these I was wondering where she purchased the black and white graphic designed paper.  Turns out, she created it herself with a sharpie on tissue paper.  You could do the doodling yourself or have your kids create the designs for a unique grandparent gift.  For more doodle inspiration check out my cooler and table.

More thrift store glass containers and old belts are glued together to create  Belt Candle Holders.

 

Create a votive centerpiece as long as you like with a 3×4 or 4×4.

Head over to the thrift store to find a beautiful container to make your own DIY candle.  This idea is from Chele from Inside the Fox Den.

 

Crafty, Air Dry Clay, IOD Transfers and Macrame

If you have any leaves remaining on your trees you may want to consider these easy Air Dry Clay Leaf Trinket bowls.  It’s a fun kids art project as well.

Sam and Liz from the Pretty Life Girls  made these simple macrame keychains with some cording and craft store keychains.

Mia from Hey Lila Hey thinks you should use your new found macrame skills on these cute plant hangers for the plant lover in your family.

Use IOD Transfers on a Thrift Store  item to create a unique and fun storage tin then fill with something homemade.

 

Another thrift store transformation, this time you need to create your own lid.  You can find this project here…  IOD Transfers with homemade lid.

Or if you are buying for the crafter in your family, how about their own set of IOD (Iron Orchid Designs) Transfers  This is their set of 2023 Christmas transfers, but they have tons of beautiful designs to choose from. Pair this gift with a couple of plain thrift store boxes or jars as I have done above.

Games People Play

 This hand painted  Backgammon Board was created from from a Reclaimed door.  Make sure you check out the FREE game pieces.

Another recycled door is the base for this handpainted Parcheesi Game Board.  Choose your own design, and choose your own colors to make this game personal for someone on your gift list.

Minilyfe thinks you should make your own Guess Who Game with photos of all your friends and family.

I created this Croquet Stand from Reclaimed Wood last year for my son and his family when his croquet set didn’t have storage.  The croquet set was originally from the thrift store.

I brought you how to make your own ladderball balls earlier this year, but from Home Depot these are instructions to DIY the entire game.

DIY Gift Ideas For the Home

This Bathtub Tray for Spa Day. was made from reclaimed wood and a couple of leftover handles.  Perfect for a relaxing evening in the tub.

Thrift store bottles once again are the start for this DIY Propagation Station.  A perfect gift for the plant lover.  For a smaller inspiration piece, check out this 3 bottle station from Amazon.

Jami at An Oregon Cottage shows how to create a  canvas log tote carrier.  Could be for the fireplace owner on your gift list or for your own fireplace.

You got your wood in the house, now you’ll need something to start the fire. Hello Homebody shares her instructions for making firestarters from soy candle wax flakes and pinecones.

If you want to give firestarters but don’t want to actually spend any money, these are firestarters your kids can make, practically for free.  These are from the Feaux Cajun Life and use toilet paper tubes, dryer lint, shredded paper and wax paper.

Lori from the Stonybrook house would love to show you how to make lanterns from scrap wood.

These are DIY Cutting Boards I created from my own scrap wood.  Cutting boards are always a welcome gift…you can always use more than one, they can be used for chopping as well as  decoration and sometimes our old boards just need to be replaced.

These DIY coasters are from Marie at Interior Frugalista made from scrap embossed leather.

Build your own folding wood cookbook holder with instructions from Kati at Houseful of Handmade.  Send this gift over the top gifting this along with your favorite cookbook.

Mindi at My Love 2 Create made this beautiful Scrap wood Trivet and gives directions how you can make one too.

 

Alpha Mom created these tiny little altoid tin toolboxes to hold nuts and bolts and screws and…  I had to include these because they were just the cutest!

Don’t throw away that old popcorn tin after Christmas, give it a makeover and regift.  This one, covered in sisal rope, is from Courtney at The Kitchen Garten.

Tidbits and Company made this cute little gift basket for a bookloving Grandma.  I think this would work for absolutely any age, especially the young reader.  Before you hit the local book store, I would encourage you to stop by a thrift store first for cute baskets and inexpensive books. Many look brand new!

 

Also for the booklover in your family,   a beautiful slice of wood makes  a great set of bookends.

I did my own take on wood slices converting one slice into this pair of cute shelves.

 

If you have a Cricut, which I do not, you may want to design your own customized welcome mats.  These are from Our How To Home.

 

This rustic leather handle tray is from Southern Revivals. Gift alone or include a couple mugs and coffees or cheeses.

Follow your heart Woodworking has a beautiful wooden tote made from old barn boards on her website with full directions.  Gift as is, or stock with tools, food, books….

Four Corners Design has their own version of a toolbox.  This one with picket style ends and a vintage rake handle.

For the person who is always working, here is a lap desk complete with storage from Houseful of Handmade.

From the Kitchen

It must be getting close to dinner time because this White Garlic Pizza Sauce looks mouth watering.  This recipe is from Sunuptosundown.

This peanut butter fudge is brought to you from Barefeet in the Kitchen.

Keeping with the fudge theme, how about whipping up some homemade hot fudge sauce for ice cream.  Dorothy at Crazy for Crust states that it’s easy to make and only takes 3 ingredients.

This pizza sauce recipe from Laura at Joy Food Sunshine has a rating of 4.99 from 1219 reviews.  It’s gotta be good!  You could take a gift box one step further pairing it with a stick of pepperoni and pizza dough.

Of all the pickles recipes out there it was hard to pick just one but this one looked delicious.  These are spicy garlic dill pickles from Heidi at Foodie Crush.

 

Forget the butter churn, Crayons and Cravings makes homemade butter with a mixer.

This Puppy Chow  (or Muddy Buddies) recipe would be a good gift for the kids to help out with.  This particular recipe is from Show me the Yummy.

This Christmas Crack is from Sara at Dinner at the Zoo.  This would be another recipe for the kids to help out with.  It’s surprisingly easy  and uses only 5 ingredients.  The crack is from the saltine crackers used as a base.

From An Oregon Cottage comes Red Beans and Rice in a Jar.  I never even knew I liked Red Beans and Rice until my oldest son spent a semester in college in Mississippi and treated us to this simple but delicious dish.

 

 

Mari, at Inspired by Family, posted these homemade dry grilling rubs as a great gift for Father’s Day or for any holiday where you’re shopping for the grillmaster in your life.

This breakfast gift basket is from Our Handcrafted Life and includes homemade banana bread, assortment of tea bags, honey and cinnamon whipped butter.

 

If you don’t want to make the bread yourself or if you don’t want to be baking at the last minute, you may want to gift this chocolate chip quick bread in a jar from Sunset.

Christmas and Seasonal Decor

A contributor at Hometalk shared her version of a wooden snowflake.  If you make 2, make sure they’re different!

This is your sneak peek of my own design but you won’t get the DIY until I post next week. 😀 

This one you just might have to make for yourself.  It’s a Reclaimed hardwood flooring Christmas tree collar.  This is from my own tree but I did make a second one with hinges as a gift.  The hinges just make for easy storage.

I couldn’t find the original poster for this little guy, but you probably have all the supplies on hand to create this  cute snowman.

Didn’t have any instructions with this one either but it was posted by Pamela Bowers and listed as being a 2×4 Christmas tree. To achieve the look ,I would use scrap book paper, sand the edges then use a vintage wax to age the wood and paper  (but that’s just me).

No DIY included with this picture from The Junk Chick but I love the use of the old spindle and fake greenery so you could use these year after year.

Gifts for Kids

This is a Pirate Treasure Chest I made for my oldest grandson’s birthday party.  Gift as is, or fill with pirate booty.

 

 

Eva from Home Decor shares her idea for a childs dress up chest.  While she used an old trunk , you can use whatever you can find…suitcase, box…Start scouring the thrift store, flea markets, Halloween closeouts  and your own closet for hours of imagination.

 

For the new parents, a car kit  which includes 1.  Blanket & Wet Bag for Dirty Clothes or Diapers | 2. Changing Pad Clutch with Diapers | 3. Hand Wipes | 4. Baby Wipes | 5. Bottle of Water | 6. Baby Bottle with 4 oz of Formula | 7. First Aid Kit | 8. Kleenex | 9. Change of Clothes and a Bib | 10. Infant Tylenol | 11. Baby Shampoo, Lotion, Diaper Rash Cream, Washcloth, and Pacifier.  This fantastic idea is from Mighty Moms.

Jenny at Get Out and Keep, made this very versatile and mobile art kit for the aspiring artist in her family.  Easy to personalize to anyone’s taste.  She has it for the summertime, but for me, art is any time of the year.

Chelsea at Do it Your Freaking Self created these animal butt magnets from the back end of some plastic animals.  How cute would these be to hold all your kids art work.  They might not even be that mad that you cut up all their toys. 😆 

Hope you have a scroll saw handy because you’ll want to create this cute reindeer puzzle for the kids.  Mindi at My Love 2 Create shares her directions and template.

 

 

I hope this list helps inspire you to get creative.  If you see an idea you like, make sure you pin it now before you forget where you found it.  I’ve tried to include sources and links for as many projects as I could. If I repeated a project from past years, I apologize in advance.

And if by chance you still can’t decide, here are 4 more of my past DIY gift ideas roundups.  Between these 5 posts you will find 375 handmade gift ideas.  You can find all of these projects  on my pinterest page look for the board DIY Gift Ideas.